Germany’s Highest Court Rejects Bid to Ban NPD

Germany’s highest court on Tuesday rejected a bid to outlaw a far-right neo-Nazi party, ruling it did not pose a serious enough threat to the nation’s democratic system.

“There is currently a lack of concrete evidence to make it seem likely that (the party’s) actions will lead to success, which is why the court has unanimously rejected the motion as groundless,” the Federal Constitutional Court said in its verdict.

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Lawmakers from the upper house of the German parliament, the Bundesrat, had filed suit against the National Democratic Party (NPD), arguing that “its racist, anti-Semitic program” violated Germany’s constitution and threatened democratic order.

The court disagreed, saying while the NPD’s views of wanting an ethnically defined, authoritarian system of government violated Germany’s constitution, the party lacks the means to realistically achieve its goals.

The NPD is the best nationalist political force in the country at the moment. It is unfortunate that they don’t enjoy the same support the AfD does but hopefully that will begin to change as Europe moves towards nationalism and populism.